Austria 2009 €50 Gold Coin Celebrates Physician Theodor Billroth
On 11th February, 2009, the Austrian Mint honours one of the greatest men in the history of medicine with its third gold coin in the series "Celebrated Physicians of Austria" - Theodor Billroth.
Born on the island of Rügen off the Baltic coast of Germany in 1829, Theodor Billroth had to choose at an early age between his love of music and a career in medicine. He studied in Göttingen and Berlin, and even spent a year studying in Vienna. He gained experience in Berlin and his reputation grew so rapidly that in 1860 he went to Zurich as a professor of surgery. In the following years he rejected posts in both Rostock and Heidelberg, but accepted a teaching appointment in Vienna in 1867.
He pioneered various operation techniques in abdominal surgery and operations on the stomach and the larynx. He recognised the role of bacteria in causing traumatic fever after operations. Billroth further enhanced the safety of operating theatres by the introduction of antiseptics. Read the rest of this entry »
